uid=HFR,o=lter,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org all public read doi:10.6073/pasta/440486fb0f3d629e5f123e6095104796 Aaron Ellison https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4151-6081 Brad Rose Researcher Manisha Patel Researcher Andrew McDevitt https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8446-4931 Researcher 2023 English

Since its inception in 1985, when a single undergraduate worked on a study of old-growth forests, the Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology (HF-SRPE) has developed into a thriving and well-coordinated program that is central to the educational and research mission of the biological field station. With core support since 1993 from a succession of NSF REU Site awards and NSF REU supplements, and with additional funding from Harvard University, HF-SRPE has grown to support 20-30 undergraduate students annually. Students are mentored by principle investigators and senior scientists in conducting research in ecology, soil science, paleoecology, wildlife biology, conservation biology, and atmospheric sciences. The research conducted by our HF-SRPE students contributes substantially to long-term scientific investigations supported by NSF’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) and National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) – Earth Ventures (EV) programs, The Smithsonian Institution’s ForestGEO network of plots, and Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Institute for Global Environmental Change (NIGEC). The overarching objectives of the program are to: enhance the ability of students to undertake high-quality interdisciplinary research; build teams of researchers in which students bring different strengths to the table, collaborate on cutting-edge projects, and find their own intellectual “voice”; encourage students to link fundamental and applied issues in their research; and cultivate the next generation of ecological scientists and educators that reflects the diversity of backgrounds and experiences of students in the United States.

Starting in 2005 the National Science Foundation (NSF), as one of the largest funders of undergraduate research programs, began emphasizing the use of project evaluations to both qualitatively and quantitatively measure the success of REU programs (Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Supplements and Sites: Program Solicitation NSF 05-592, 2005). One of the primary objectives of this initiative was to evaluate the degree of student learning aligned with specific programmatic goals. A comprehensive assessment tool for BIO REU programs would not implemented until 2010 using the Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA) survey. Although the implementation of URSSA does provide national programmatic benchmarks, it is limited to a single post assessment which does not capture the change associated with the intervention project. This inability to capture the degree of gains is further exacerbated by the high caliber students recruited by HF-SRPE, presumably entering with more extensive skillsets.

education surveys LTER controlled vocabulary disturbance LTER core area Harvard Forest HFR LTER USA HFR default

This dataset is released to the public under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (No Rights Reserved). Please keep the dataset creators informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset should include proper acknowledgement.

Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal https://spdx.org/licenses/CC0-1.0.html CC0-1.0 https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/exist/apps/datasets/showData.html?id=hf279 Harvard Forest. Coordinates based on WGS84 datum. -72.19 -72.19 +42.53 +42.53 340 340 meter 2006 2015 genus Homo species sapiens human complete Information Manager Harvard Forest

324 North Main Street Petersham MA 01366 USA

(978) 724-3302 hf-im@lists.fas.harvard.edu Harvard Forest

324 North Main Street Petersham MA 01366 USA

(978) 724-3302 (978) 724-3595 https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu

In 2005, we developed a survey instrument to systematically evaluate participants' program experiences and persistence in science. Data was gathered at four points during the summer program. First, students completed a short survey upon their arrival at HF-SRPE to determine how they were recruited, their expectations of the program goals for the summer, and their educational and occupational aspirations. Second, students were administered a mid-summer survey. Questions probed whether the program was meeting their expectations; their satisfaction with each element of the program (i.e., mentors, field trips, independent studies); their interactions with scientists, staff, and other student participants; and changes that could improve their experiences. At the conclusion of the summer, students completed a third survey containing follow-ups to the questions in the first and second surveys. These were supplemented with individual semi-structured interviews to examine students’ survey responses and to provide them with an opportunity to discuss in detail their experiences and specific aspects of the program. This design allowed the evaluator to explore new topics that arose during the interviews and to follow up on compelling responses. Interviews explored students' relationships with their mentors; how, if at all, their educational and occupational aspirations had changed; and their perceptions of science and the field of ecology. Upon review of this pilot study, the decision was made to reduce the yearly assessment of participant experiences to a single pre-post survey according to NSF guidelines for REU Site evaluation. This survey consisted of 22 multiple choice questions and 2 open response questions. The pre survey was sent out to all 263 HF-SRPE participants with over a 91% response rate to all questions. Percent responses were calculated for all binary questions about previous experiences. A similar post survey was sent to all 263 HF-SRPE participants with over 71% of the individuals responding to both pre and post paired questions. To ensure confidentiality of participant responses, all open-ended responses have been removed from this dataset.

Harvard Forest

324 North Main Street Petersham MA 01366 USA

(978) 724-3302 (978) 724-3595 https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu https://ror.org/059cpzx98 pointOfContact The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program examines ecological dynamics in the New England region resulting from natural disturbances, environmental change, and human impacts. National Science Foundation LTER grants: DEB-8811764, DEB-9411975, DEB-0080592, DEB-0620443, DEB-1237491, DEB-1832210. hf279-01-REU-survey-questions.csv REU survey questions, 2006-2015 hf279-01-REU-survey-questions.csv 8757 22b8d4c5f485dd650d5127a5ba1f7ff6 1 \r\n column , https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p27/hf279/hf279-01-REU-survey-questions.csv question.code question codes as they appear in data file hf279-02-REU-survey-answers-2006-2015.csv question codes as they appear in data file hf279-02-REU-survey-answers-2006-2015.csv NA missing value question.text survey questions that correspond to each question.code Survey questions that correspond to each question.code NA missing value question.type type of survey question type of survey question NA missing value data.type type of data generated by survey question type of data generated by survey question NA missing value code.0 value for each survey question when answer=0 value for each survey question when answer=0 NA missing value code.1 value for each survey question when answer=1 value for each survey question when answer=1 NA missing value code.2 value for each survey question when answer=2 value for each survey question when answer=2 NA missing value code.3 value for each survey question when answer=3 value for each survey question when answer=3 NA missing value code.4 value for each survey question when answer=4 value for each survey question when answer=4 NA missing value code.5 value for each survey question when answer=5 value for each survey question when answer=5 NA missing value code.6 value for each survey question when answer=6 value for each survey question when answer=6 NA missing value notes notes notes NA missing value 48 hf279-02-REU-survey-answers.csv REU survey answers, 2006-2015 hf279-02-REU-survey-answers.csv 25718 0cec612479cd6444265f1e3a81a09243 1 \r\n column , https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p27/hf279/hf279-02-REU-survey-answers.csv year HF-SRPE program year YYYY 1 year NA missing value student unique identifier randomly assigned to participants based upon program year (first two digits) and total number of students within the cohort (last two digits) unique identifier randomly assigned to participants based upon program year (first two digits) and total number of students within the cohort (last two digits) NA missing value question1a.pre Have you ever conducted laboratory research? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1a.post Have you ever conducted laboratory research? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1b.pre Have you ever conducted research in the field? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1b.post Have you ever conducted research in the field? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1c.pre Have you ever participated on a research team (not as part of a class)? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1c.post Have you ever participated on a research team (not as part of a class)? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1d.pre Have you ever worked with an experienced researcher (e.g. faculty, senior researcher) on a scientific research project? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1d.post Have you ever worked with an experienced researcher (e.g. faculty, senior researcher) on a scientific research project? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1e.pre Have you ever presented scientific findings to colleagues or professionals from a research project in which you participated? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1e.post Have you ever presented scientific findings to colleagues or professionals from a research project in which you participated? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1f.pre Have you ever contributed to the production of a scientific paper or article? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1f.post Have you ever contributed to the production of a scientific paper or article? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1g.pre Have you ever authored or co-authored a scientific paper or article? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1g.post Have you ever authored or co-authored a scientific paper or article? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1h.pre Have you ever participated in a paid internship in a scientific field? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question1h.post Have you ever participated in a paid internship in a scientific field? 0 no 1 yes NA missing value question2a.pre Have you ever felt like a respected member of a scientific research team? 0 no 1 yes 3 not applicable NA missing value question2a.post Have you ever felt like a respected member of a scientific research team? 0 no 1 yes 3 not applicable NA missing value question3a.pre Would you say that your scientific research skills are: 1 Need development 2 Adequate 3 Strong 4 Very strong NA missing value question3a.post Would you say that your scientific research skills are: 1 Need development 2 Adequate 3 Strong 4 Very strong NA missing value question4a.pre Would you say that your confidence in your scientific research skills is: 1 Low 2 Moderate 3 High NA missing value question4a.post Would you say that your confidence in your scientific research skills is: 1 Low 2 Moderate 3 High NA missing value question5a.pre How well prepared are you now to participate in interdisciplinary research with a team of researchers? 1 Not at all prepared 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 Very prepared NA missing value question5a.post How well prepared are you now to participate in interdisciplinary research with a team of researchers? 1 Not at all prepared 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 Very prepared NA missing value question5b.pre How well prepared are you now to conduct research supervised by a research mentor? 1 Not at all prepared 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 Very prepared NA missing value question5b.post How well prepared are you now to conduct research supervised by a research mentor? 1 Not at all prepared 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 Very prepared NA missing value question5c.pre How well prepared are you now to analyze scientific data? 1 Not at all prepared 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 Very prepared NA missing value question5c.post How well prepared are you now to analyze scientific data? 1 Not at all prepared 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 Very prepared NA missing value question5d.pre How well prepared are you now to write-up scientific results? 1 Not at all prepared 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 Very prepared NA missing value question5d.post How well prepared are you now to write-up scientific results? 1 Not at all prepared 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 Very prepared NA missing value question5e.pre How well prepared are you now to present scientific results? 1 Not at all prepared 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 Very prepared NA missing value question5e.post How well prepared are you now to present scientific results? 1 Not at all prepared 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 Very prepared NA missing value question8a.pre Would you say that your long term post-college goals, either for education or employment, are: 1 Uncertain 2 Pretty clear 3 Very clear NA missing value question8a.post Would you say that your long term post-college goals, either for education or employment, are: 1 Uncertain 2 Pretty clear 3 Very clear NA missing value question8b.post Would you say that your long term post-college goals, either for education or employment, are: 1 Uncertain 2 Pretty clear 3 Very clear NA missing value question9a.pre What are your plans immediately after graduating from college: 1 Grad school environmental 2 Grad school non-environmental 3 Job environmental 4 Job non-environmental 5 Not certain 6 Other NA missing value question9a.post What are your plans immediately after graduating from college: 1 Grad school environmental 2 Grad school non-environmental 3 Job environmental 4 Job non-environmental 5 Not certain 6 Other NA missing value question10a.pre The likelihood that you will pursue a career in an environmentally related scientific field is: 1 Not at all likely 2 A little likely 3 Moderately likely 4 Quite likely NA missing value question10a.post The likelihood that you will pursue a career in an environmentally related scientific field is: 1 Not at all likely 2 A little likely 3 Moderately likely 4 Quite likely NA missing value question11a.pre If you attend graduate school someday- what degree will you seek: 0 Do not plan to attend 1 Masters 2 PhD 3 Other NA missing data question11a.post If you attend graduate school someday- what degree will you seek: 0 Do not plan to attend 1 Masters 2 PhD 3 Other NA missing value old.q10a.pre The likelihood that you will pursue a career in an academically related scientific field is: 1 Not at all likely 2 A little likely 3 Moderately likely 4 Quite likely NA missing value old.q10a.post The likelihood that you will pursue a career in an academically related scientific field is: 1 Not at all likely 2 A little likely 3 Moderately likely 4 Quite likely NA missing value 247 hf279-03-REU-pre-post-survey-code.txt R script for analyzing survey results hf279-03-REU-pre-post-survey-code.txt 22559 d050d86e66a1175ae44bbe34273fc2bb none R script https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p27/hf279/hf279-03-REU-pre-post-survey-code.txt script historical long-term measurement https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/exist/apps/datasets/showData.html?id=hf280 https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/exist/apps/datasets/showData.html?id=hf281 https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/exist/apps/datasets/showData.html?id=hf354